Israel slams ‘shameful’ EU

A new European Union rule to slap labels on products from Israeli settlements escalated quickly Wednesday into a heated feud between the two allies and the suspension of some diplomatic dialogue.

The rule means Israeli firms selling their goods in Europe will need to differentiate between products made in Israel and those produced in Israeli settlements. European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said the move was merely "a technical issue, not a political stance."

But Israel was furious at the decision, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likening it to the Nazis' treatment of Jewish businesses.

"The labeling of products of the Jewish state by the European Union brings back dark memories, Europe should be ashamed of itself," he said during a visit to Washington on Wednesday.

“The EU has decided to label Israel, and we are not prepared to accept the fact that Europe is labeling the side that is being attacked by terrorism,” he said.

The Nazis imposed an economic boycott on Jewish businesses, telling people not to buy from them.

Shortly after Netanyahu's comments, Israel's foreign ministry announced that its diplomats would not attend a number of scheduled EU meetings.

"Because of the latest EU decision, Israel is suspending its diplomatic dialogue with the EU in various forums which had been scheduled to take place in the coming weeks," the foreign ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse, after summoning the EU's ambassador, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, to the foreign ministry.

An Israeli official told POLITICO that the foreign ministry was halting "certain working groups and sub-committees."

The Commission wants the wording "Israeli settlement" to be added to labels. For example, an item from the West Bank could read "product from West Bank (Israeli settlement)."

Netanyahu's comments were not the first time that a senior Israeli politician has used such strong language to describe the labeling rules, which apply to fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, honey, olive oil, eggs, poultry, organic products and cosmetics.

After more than a dozen European foreign ministers sent a letter to Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, urging her to push forward new rules on labeling products, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, suggested that such a distinction could be made by putting a yellow star on the products, a reference to the stars that Jews were obliged to wear by the Nazis.

Some European countries — including the U.K., Belgium and Denmark — already have such guidelines in place, but Dombrovskis said the new rules apply to all 28 member countries. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

The Commission’s decision angered Israeli officials in Brussels, who described the move as politically motivated.

“We regret that the EU has chosen, for political reasons, to take such an exceptional and discriminatory step, inspired by the boycott movement, particularly at this time, when Israel is confronting a wave of terrorism targeting any and all of its citizens,” Israel's permanent representation to the EU said in an official statement.

A group of U.S. senators waded into the EU-Israel controversy earlier this week.

“At a time of significant instability in the region, it is deeply concerning to us that the EU is considering a proposal intended to impose more diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel,” the letter reads. “The proposed labeling guidelines play into the narrative of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement, which is an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians.”

The bipartisan letter was signed by 36 senators, including one of Cruz’s rivals for the GOP nomination — Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida — and many senior Democrats.

The letter notes that in the 1970s, Congress made it illegal for American companies to comply with the Arab League’s boycott of Israel. Similarly, Congress passed a bill this year saying that the United States, when negotiating a new trade deal with the EU, is required to “discourage” Europe from creating policies “that would boycott, divest from or sanction Israel.”

Peter T

“All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.”
. . . That is the most important sentence in the article. The EU works not against Jews or against Israel but against the illegal settlements. If Israel wants to do business in the EU, they have to conform, for once, to international norms.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 9:18 PM CET

hna

Under international trade law – rules of origin – GATT/WTO – it’s impossible to trust Bibi’s intellectual capacity to defraud EU consumers of products originating from Palestinian (sovereign) soil – even if not yet recognized under UNSC. Dishonesty of this nature of typical of Bibi’s cabal when it comes to designating anti-sematic label on those who oppose Israeli politics of occupation on West Bank & Gaza.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 9:23 PM CET

anndash

This murderer wouldn’t know one thing about being “ashamed.” Obviously, he doesn’t feel ashamed at killing innocent Palestinian babies.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 10:30 PM CET

David Sterne

“All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.” – Absolutely untrue. The land under discussion is considered “disputed territory” under international law, and Jewish settlement in Judah and Samaria is fully within the bounds of international law.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 10:35 PM CET

SteveK

Mr. Netanyahu seems to think everyone else is out of step… Out of line.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 11:19 PM CET

bdb

Bibi should be ashamed for comparing information disclosure about product sources to Nazi labeling of Jewish products. He doesn’t get what he wants and shouts “shame on you.” If people want to support Israel but don’t want money going to support the disputed settlements, then politicians are likely going to put those concerns into law. These are contentious issues, as Bibi well knows. To compare opposition to settlements to Nazi regulation couldn’t be more disingenuous. The shame lies squarely on those who compare settlement opposition to Nazism or facism. Bibi should keep in mind that fascism pushes to eliminate opposition. It sounds like the Israeli government is trying to silence any opposition to government policy, calling “shame” on those who call settlements “shameful.”

Posted on 11/11/15 | 11:19 PM CET

Wayne Maynard

“Israel should be ashamed and boycotted.” There I fixed it.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 11:31 PM CET

SmokeScreen

He seems to be ashamed of these settlements. As well he should be.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 11:40 PM CET

FL777

It’s ironically sad. Liberal democrats here are viciously attacking Israel, even though Israel has done everything it can to limit civilian casualties to the Palestinians – all while Palestine has pummeled Israel with tens of thousands of rockets, kidnapped and killed Israel citizens and ceaselessly promoted terror attacks against Israel. Now Europe and America’s liberal democrats is taking a page from the Nazis and labeling Jews with a gold star to persecute them. Honestly, the American Democratic Party hates Israel and would consign all Jews to modern concentration camps to be gassed and tortured if they could. No group is more full of hatred and intolerance than the liberal Democratic Party.

Posted on 11/11/15 | 11:47 PM CET

The Rationalist

” Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, ” ??? Netanyahu is the acting foreign minister since the recent elections in March. Lieberman is the former foreign minister. Knowing the facts should be a pre-requisite for reporting. Apart for the tendency of the extreme right in Israel (synonymous with the government coalition as well as Lieberman’s party) to cry “Natzi” and “Holocaust” any time that they are admonished for their illegal activities in the occupied territories and mis-treatment of the Palestinians, the comparison is completely ridiculous. After all – the distinction is based on purely the legal status of the producers rather than their racial or religious identity.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 12:01 AM CET

norman ravitch

Bibi is using the usual ultra-Zionist technique of exploiting the Holocaust for selfish purposes. Yes Europe has a bad record in its dealing with the Jews in the pre-WWII period and during the war. But this does not excuse what the Zionists are doing, like mice they are nibbling away at the Palestinian land for a state of its own so that nothing will be left. It would be more humane for them simply to kill all Palestinians than to pretend hypocritically that they want a two-state solution and that their settlements are not a problem. Settlements are THE ONLY PROBLEM.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 1:33 AM CET

norman ravitch

I have a dream: Bibi and Obama board a plane together for some international purpose and an ISIS bomb aboard the flight explodes and kills them both.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 1:35 AM CET

Sarah

I get why Netanyahu is opposed–he’s an ultra-right-winger–but I think this labeling distinction is an excellent idea. Now we get to see who the real anti-Semites are. Right now you have a bunch of fashionable lefty types doing BDS who boycott everything out of Israel but tell the world “I’m not anti-Semitic, I’m anti-Zionist, I totally support the tiny percentage of anti-Zionist Jews.” Right, you don’t want to destroy the Jewish people, you’re just trying to economically destroy the one country where they’re a majority. Uh-huh. Now these people will have to put their money where their mouth is. “Oh, so you just want the Palestinians to have a homeland? Good for you. So you will be happy to buy stuff from Israel that’s not made in the settlements, oui?” The answers should be very revealing.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 1:53 AM CET

lowkeynz

1. Israel breaks international law with the constantly expanding settlements.
2. Europe responds by changing their food labels.
3. Israel compares Europe to the Nazis.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 2:39 AM CET

Leo

What’s the problem? The settlements are not Israel

Posted on 11/12/15 | 5:51 AM CET

Brussels Based

I am surprised by how little has been made of the fact that the products concerned do not benefit from the preferential tariffs arrangement in place for Israeli exports to the EU. Labelling will allow Member States, if they so choose, to police tariffs more effectively. False labelling will presumably attract not only consumer protection but also tariff avoidance scrutiny.

Why EU is boycotting only Israel?
For a moment let’s eliminate the traditional Anti-Semitism of many Europeans.
What drives the EU?
EU pays with the Israeli coin to Islamism and Muslim countries for oil and to bust commercial interests.
The EU politicians don’t have the courage to deal with the evolution of EU into EuroArabia.
It is the result of EU politicians please Islamist politic in order to get
their votes in elections- but the EU refuse to learn that pleasing Islamism
result is more terror.
Could you imagine 20 years ago that all modern cities would be equipped with CCTV cameras that would be following you everywhere – in buildings, in trains,in buses and cars and everywhere else?

Posted on 11/12/15 | 8:27 AM CET

cools

how can those jewhaters live with themselves? How can there be labels of origin from a country that does not exist? Let those leftist, please consult the maps used by their moslim terrorist friends! Israel is not on there! everyhing produced in Israel is thus to be labeled “made in palestine”? There was never and will never anything be made in palestine, and that is not the jews fault. Let’s send hamas and fatah some more money (sic) it can only lead to peace and the destruction of Israel,It would make Obama,Hollande, Merkel and Hitler Happy.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 9:33 AM CET

Flemming

Here we can clearly see the covert ant-semitism in the heads of these Eurocrats who do not even show just the slightest bit of remorse in their scrupulous quest to persecute against minorities. We have seen it all before. There are many countries still occupying areas of settlement of other ethnic groups: France->Corsica, Sweden, Norway, Finland -> Sápmi, Italy->Ladin, Slovenic, Germany->Danish, Frisian etc.

So here nothing is being said: no it is just Israel who is at fault? I have never witnessed such a revolting hypocracy in my entire life. If this would be a fair decision, then everything that is being produced in Israel plus affiliated territories no matter by whom and their respective religious and ethnic background should be labelled: Northern District, Center District, Haifa District, Southern District, Eastern District.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 10:31 AM CET

Luk

The only shameful thing here is the hypocritical stance of the Israeli government and several of the comments on this thread.
Fact: Israeli settlements are illegal for international law. Period. And Israel is the first to acknowledge it through its (predictable) hysterical reaction, otherwise it wouldn’t have any problem in allowing the indication of the products’ origin from them.

There is no “boycott of Israel”. People who don’t want to buy any Israeli product can do it already if they want. In addition, products coming from the officially recognized Israeli territory won’t change indication, just those coming from the colonies: it’s dishonest that they are marked “made in Palestine” if they effectively come from Israeli settlements. I believe consumers should be allowed to know if a product comes from an illegally colonized territory. And yes, I believe this should be applied to other cases like Crimea.

Comparing this situation to, say, Corsica or Catalonia is just baloney.

And using the antisemitism argument is becoming stale. Israel cannot expect to be treated as a normal country or a special country at its will. It must decide.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 11:07 AM CET

D

Israel could have been a western country but it got hijacked by orthodox Jewish settler extremists (and ultra Orthodox Jews which don’t make the headlines as often).

At this stage it’s hopeless. It’s like a 20 dollar bill that’s slowly floating away in the ocean … You see it sinking but there is nothing you can do it save it …

I grew up Jewish my entire life … Every group of Jews uses the holocust for it’s own agenda. Zionists use to for settlements, orthodox use to scare people into accepting their version of religion.. If there are six types of Jewish groups out there then there are six different ways that the holocust is getting exploited for their own benefit

Posted on 11/12/15 | 11:56 AM CET

jax

This got nothing to do with hate.
Many citizens in the EU already boycot Israel. This is due to the disturbing situation of Palestinians, who are being treated in ways similiar to how the jews were treated by nazis.
While most of us dislike the nazis, it didnt make us hate germans.

So get this

Posted on 11/12/15 | 1:02 PM CET

Simon

I can’t see a problem here. I thought Mr Netanyahu was quite proud of the settlements. Now, the settlements have a chance to develop a well-known brand of their own.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 2:04 PM CET

Victor_D

EU is not boycotting anything – it will simply force Israeli exporters to indicate whether the produce/goods has been manufactured in the occupied territories. It’s labelling, not boycotting or banning. Consumers in the EU will make the ultimate decision as to whether to buy such a product or not. EU is not telling them one way or the other, it is simply giving them the choice.
If the above post seems antisemitic to anybody, that person does not know what the word means. I for one don’t mind buying products from the settlements, since I am generally pro-Israeli, but that does not mean other people should not have a right to choose differently.
As for Netanyahu, he probably believes that the EU is as easily manipulated as the US Congress, which is (unfortunately for him) not the case. You see, throwing dirt, trying to shame people and comparing people to Nazis for disagreeing with the hard-line right-wing Israeli government policies will just piss the average European off, making them more anti-Israeli. Good work there, Bibi; keep peeing off your Western allies, because that’s definitely a perfect strategy for Israel. Nothing could go wrong…

Posted on 11/12/15 | 3:14 PM CET

Anne Pierret

Soutien total à Netanyahu. L’UE est devenue une arnaque.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 10:27 PM CET

mikhael

@ARIELY SHEIN: There is no “Israel badge”. If you want to sell a product labeled “Made in Israel”, it must be (mainly) produced in Israel, not in China, Mexico or some illegal settlement abroad. Why do you think would someone boycott a product labeled in those settlements, but not “Made in Israel”? Doesn’t make sense for antisemits, so don’t be a hypocrit.

Posted on 11/12/15 | 11:51 PM CET

Jeromy

The obsession with Israels “atrocities” is very telling. Arabs whining all the time about Israel and the west, and still more arab babies and adults are killed by fellow arabs than Israel ever could. Hell, they even love to kill themselves. Anyway, I will pay attention and buy the labeled stuff with pleasure, thank you!

Posted on 11/13/15 | 1:50 AM CET

Jeromy

And the Latvian should be particularly ashamed, old german chaindog!

Posted on 11/13/15 | 1:53 AM CET

DTorres

Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Thomas Friedman on the morality of America’s global role.
Is the US a force for good in the world?

Brian Richard Allen

…. All Israeli settlements are illegal under “international law” ….

Rubbish. During the 1967 War, Israel LIBERATED its sovereign (and now DISPUTED) territory from the then occupying Jordan – in Samaria and Judea — and Egypt, in Gaza. Both Jordan and Egypt had OCCUPIED those parts of Sovereign Israel since their 1948 invasion. The assorted Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, Saudi’ Yemeni and various other moslem Arabs who presently be-squat and be-manure those parts of Israel are the occupiers — but complained not one bit while Egypt and Jordan illegally occupied their much more recently invented and claimed “ancestral homeland.”.

That, during the 1960s, the terrorist/mass-murderer, Arafat (who died of AIDS, in Paris, some time before November 11 2004) invented the “palestinian” people — and an entirely bogus “history of their prior claim to and/or “ownership” of their large area of Sovereign Israel — can never alter the fact it is they, so labeled, who are the illegal occupiers.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Brian Richard Allen.:

Posted on 11/13/15 | 8:33 AM CET

ExternalBox

It is a good decision. It makes it easier for me to boycott goods made in Israel.

Posted on 11/13/15 | 9:29 AM CET

ExternalBox

If I look at the deeds he did then I know who is the new Nazi

Posted on 11/13/15 | 9:30 AM CET

Marjorie Stamm Rosenfeld

Where did the author of this piece get the idea that “all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law”? It certainly wasn’t from the 1922 Mandate for Palestine, which reserved Western Palestine for World Jewry, Article 6 of which reads: “The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.”

This Mandate has never been amended or abrogated and is still in force under international law. In fact, Article 80 of the U.N. charter supports it in its protection of the rights of all peoples given them by previous legal documents.

Posted on 11/13/15 | 7:32 PM CET

bende gazos

I do agree with the comment of: a j bowen: wow this PM is just stupid!

Posted on 11/14/15 | 1:50 AM CET

David Sher

Nous Sommes Israeliens maintnant. Israel has been dealing with this terrorism since before it was born. Now Europe is finding out what its like. Labeling is stupid and unproductive. What they should be doing is emulating the Israelis fight against islamic extremism.

Posted on 11/14/15 | 2:37 PM CET

Wigt

If netanyahu believes protecting european consumers is anti-semitic, then I think he has reached a new high in his radical zionist ideology .

Posted on 12/1/15 | 10:36 AM CET

Semo

German guy here: Hi y’all: To compare this issue here with the nazi politics is AMORALIC and wrong. This mustn’t be compared. This right-wing guy should tame his anger. While doing so he should read and learn the history and contemplate, before he befouls the remembrance of the killed and surviving Jewish people as well as the other Folks because of the German terror. He and his right-wing friends in Israel should seek peace like this for indeed cool guy who tried it in the 90s, his name was Jitzchak Rabin, I believe. Since then it looks to me like the several isreal governments don’t seek peace at all but containment like the super-powers of the cold war era. Is that true? I’m hope I’m wrong. To me it looks like this: If the settlers would stop their activities in settling in disputed swathe of land, the palestinians will have no reason to be aggressed. So one would not buy the stuff from these illegal companies or settlements. The same happens to VW because of the Diesel Gate. What’s wrong with it?

Perhaps this is why the EU tried to push Israel gently to solve this mind-f****ing eternal war between them and their brothers and neighbors by labelling special products (not generally Israeli) settler products. I hope the negotiations will continue again on all sides with the right-dosed humility instead of this ongoing affectation on ALL sides.

To end this stupid stuff here FL777, you draw the heavy Nazi mace: “You can tell when a [replace USE NET, e.g. with nothing ] discussion is getting old when one of the participents [sic!] drags out Hitler and the Nazis.”